New International Version
Genesis 31:38
38“I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks.
Genesis 31:38 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
- English Standard Version (ESV)These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.
- New King James Version (NKJV)These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“For twenty years I have been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I never used a single ram of yours for food.
Context of Genesis 31:38
36Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? 37Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us. “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 39I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. 40This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
Read all of Genesis 31Genesis 31:38 word by word
זֶה֩ עֶשְׂרִ֨ים שָׁנָ֤ה אָנֹכִי֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ רְחֵלֶ֥יךָ וְעִזֶּ֖יךָ לֹ֣א שִׁכֵּ֑לוּ וְאֵילֵ֥י צֹאנְךָ֖ לֹ֥א אָכָֽלְתִּי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- This twentyעֶשְׂרִים‛eώrîym · twentyH6242
- yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- with thee; thy ewesרָחֵלrâchêl · eweH7353
- and thy she goatsעֵז‛êz · goatH5795
- have not cast their youngשָׁכֹלshâkôl · be bereavedH7921
- and the ramsאַ֫יִל'ayil · ramH352
- of thy flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- have I not eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
Cross-references for Genesis 31:38
- Genesis 31:41It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times.
- Genesis 30:27But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”
- Exodus 23:26and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.
- Deuteronomy 28:4The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
- Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
Commentaries on Genesis 31:38
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-55Verses 1-55 - Jacob‘s Flight from Haran 19. תרפים terāpı̂ym Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It appears three times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is always in the plural number. The root does not appear in Biblical Hebrew. It perhaps means “to live well,” intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), “to nourish,” transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 36-42Verses 36-42 If Jacob were willingly consumed with heat in the day, and frost by night, to become the son-in-law of Laban, what should we refuse to endure, to become the sons of God? Jacob speaks of God as the God of his father; he thought himself unworthy to be regarded, but was beloved for his father's sake. He calls him the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac; for Abraham was dead, and gone to that world where perfect love casts out fear; but Isaac…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 36-42Jacob answered by accusing Laban of making false charges and humiliating him. Now Laban was the one who had to answer, because his charges were insulting and seemed to have no basis.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3838. The rams of thy flock have I not eaten--Eastern people seldom kill the females for food except they are barren.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 31:38
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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